Nepal - Culture

Social Conventions

With its diverse ethnic groups and traditional beliefs, Nepal has numerous cultural practices that may appear unusual to a person on his/her first visit to the country. However, to enjoy a stay in Nepal, it is important to consider the different cultural aspects of the country.

The form of greeting in Nepal is "namaste" and is performed by joining the palms together. Before entering a Nepalese home, temple, and stupa shoes must be removed. It is considered offense to touch anything with feet. When visiting Hindu temples, one should ask permission first before entering, also leather articles are not allowed in temples.It is important that utensils do not touch other peoples’ foods or plates and eating from another person’s plate is considered impure. A person should always ask permission before taking photographs and sometimes, when people shake their heads, they might mean “yes”. Public displays of affection between man and woman are frowned upon.

Language

The official language of Nepal is Nepali and it is spoken by around 49% of the population. A census in 2001 reported that there were ninety-two living languages spoken throughout the country while many people in business and in government prefer to use English.

Religion

The majority of the population of Nepal follows Hinduism (80.2%). Buddhism represents 10.7%, Islam represents 4.2%, Yuma Samyo or Yumanism represents 3.6% while 1.2% of the population listed “other” according to a 2006 census.

Nepal Travel Information

At Goway we believe that a well-informed traveller is a safer traveller. With this in mind, we have compiled an easy to navigate travel information section dedicated to Nepal.